Catania - Economy

Economy

Catania, after Palermo, is the second economic and industrial hub of Sicily. The city is famous for its mainly petrochemical industry, and the extraction of sulphur. In the year 2000, according to Censis, Catania was the 14th richest city in Italy, with a GDP of US$ 6.6 billion (€ 6.304 billion), which was 0.54% of the Italian GDP, a GDP per capita of US$ 21,000 (€ 20,100) and an average GDP per employee of US$ 69,000 (€ 66,100).

In the late-19th century and early-20th century, Catania began to be heavily industrialised, with its several factories and chimneys, often to the extant that it was compared to Southern Italy's Manchester. The economy of Catania suffered heavily from the bad effects of World War I, and was marked by an economic crisis and recession that began to culminate in the 1920s. Ever since then, the city began to lose its industrial and entrepreneurial importance. By the 1930s, Catania remained a small fishing town with derelict and disused industries. However, after the destruction of World War II, Catania's economy began to re-grow in the late-1950s and early-1960s. As a matter of fact, the city's economic growth was so rapid and dynamic that it was often nicknamed the "Milan of the South", or in Italian "Milano del Sud". This rapid economic growth provided a great amount of Sicilians living in the more rural areas, or smaller towns such as Enna, Ragusa and Caltanissetta to move to the city to seek new jobs.

Today, Catania, despite several problems, has one of the most dynamic economies in the whole of Southern Italy. Despite it still has a strong industrial and agricultural sector, is has a fast-growing tourist industry, with several international visitors coming to visit the city's main sights and the nearby Etna volcano. It contains the headquarters or important offices of companies such as STMicroelectronics, and also several chemical and pharmaceutical businesses. There have been several new business developments to further boost Catania's economy, including the construction of Etnapolis, a huge and avant-garde commercial centre designed by Massimiliano Fuksas, the same architect who has designed the FieraMilano industrial fair in Milan, or the Etna Valley, often compared to being the Sicilian version of California's Silicon Valley, where, especially in the 1990s, several major TNCs, or transnational corporations set up important headquarters or offices. Nearby, just 12 kilometres from the city, is the Parco Zoo di Sicilia, or commonly known as Etnaland, a big theme park, which contains a zoo, swimming pool, aquatic centre and several rides, which is the largest of its kind in Southern Italy and attracts thousands of tourists, not only from Sicily, but also from Calabria and Apulia.

The American Naval Air Station Sigonella that lies near Catania also provides a great economic boost for the city. Many Sicilian families rent apartments out to the American military personnel providing great income to a very low income area compared to rest of Italy. After the euro currency conversion prices skyrocketed for everyone in the area. This has been balanced out with the inception of the European Union investing a lot of money into the area for tourism and infrastructure.